Apple Inc. has filed two complaints against Qualcomm Inc. in the Chinese court system, Qualcomm announced on Jan. 25. The move comes after Apple filed suit against Qualcomm in U.S. federal court last week.
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) said it had not seen the complaints but, according to information from the court, one alleges violation of China’s anti-monopoly law.
“These filings by Apple’s Chinese subsidiary are just part of Apple’s efforts to find ways to pay less for Qualcomm’s technology,” said Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg in a statement distributed by the company. “Apple was offered terms consistent with terms accepted by more than 100 other Chinese companies and refused to even consider them.” Those terms, Rosenberg added, followed the new set of terms Qualcomm set with China’s antitrust regulator in early 2015.
“Qualcomm is prepared to defend its business model anywhere in the world,” Rosenberg’s statement went on to say. “We are proud of our history of contributing our inventions to the development and success of the mobile communications ecosystem.”
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)’s U.S. lawsuit, filed Jan. 20 in San Diego, seeks about $1 billion. Apple said Qualcomm promised the Silicon Valley company rebates in exchange for Apple’s exclusive use of Qualcomm electronics in its phones. Apple alleged that Qualcomm withheld the money as punishment for Apple cooperating with South Korean regulators in its antitrust investigation. South Korea plans to fine Qualcomm $865 million for what it calls anticompetitive behavior.
Qualcomm has said it plans to fight both actions.
